Disposal tool



March 27, 1962 L. o. WHlTMlRE 3,026,553

DISPOSAL TOOL Filed April 29, 1959 INVENTOR.

1 1 LEE 0. WH/TM/RE 26 BY MW [M/MZE nite States atent 6 Claims. (Cl.-104.8)

This invention relates to a tool for disposing of waste material and thelike.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a convenient,handy, and highly effective tool for disposing of waste material, as forexample, for cleaning up the yard after pets, for use in kennels orchicken yards, for picking up water, industrial shavings, saw dust orany other material.

A further object is to provide such a tool that can be used by a personwith only one arm to clean up waste material and dump same withouthaving to put the tool down.

A further object is to provide such a tool which is labor saving in thatit cuts down on the number of trips required to clean a yard or thelike, and eliminates the necessity of a person bending down to hold thepan.

A further object is to provide such a tool having unique means forperforming the dumping operation.

A further object is to provide in such a tool a unique resilient handleor foot member upon which the users foot may be placed to provide thecorrect pressure of the pan against the ground and which foot member isreversible so that in the event of its being bent down- Wardlyout-of-shape during use until it has little resiliency, it is adapted tobe reversed so that the foot pressure may be exerted on the oppositeside of the foot member and the resiliency restored.

A further object is, generally, to improve the design and constructionof disposal tools.

The means by which the foregoing and other objects of the presentinvention are accomplished and the manner of their accomplishment willbe readily understood from the following specifications upon referenceto the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention with the pan beingshown in a carrying position.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view on an enlarged scale of the pan, per se.

FIG. 3 .is a further enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view taken ason the line III-III of FIG. 2, with a portionof the suspension meansbeing shown, with the pan being shown in a ground engaging or loadingposition, and with the scraper blade being shown in a position to.scrape the material up the ramp.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational 'view on a reduced scale of the tool of thepresent invention, illustrating how the material is dumped with the aidof the scraper.

Referring to the drawings in which the various parts are indicated bynumerals, the tool 11 of the present invention includes a scraper 13comprising an elongated rod 15 and a substantially flat and thin blade17 fixedly mounted adjacent the lower end of the rod by suitable meansand is preferably angled downwardly and rearwardly from the rod.

A pair of projections 1'9 are fixedly mounted on rod 15 intermediate theends of the rod and extend laterally in opposite directions therefrom.If desired, projections 19 may be formed from a single piece extendedthrough a transverse bore in rod 15 and secured therein as by gluing orthe like. Adjacent the opposite ends of projections 19 are respectivelyattached flexible suspension members 21, which members are preferablypivotally mounted from the projections and are preferably in the form ofchains as shown in the drawings but may be formed of any suitableelongated flexible members as, for example, plastic or the like withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

The lower ends of flexible members 21 are respectively attached to theopposite sides 23, 25 of a pan 26, by suitable means, as by means ofswivels 27 and brads 29 or the like attached to the respective sides andrespectively extending through the swivels.

Between sides 23, 25 extends a bottom 31 fixedly attached adjacent theopposite ends thereof to the sides to establish an open topped container33. Bottom 31 preferably includes a rearward panel 35, which isdownwardly and forwardly sloping from the rearward edge of pan 26 and aforward panel 37 integrally joined adjacent its rearward edge torearward panel adjacent its forward edge as at 39 and which forwardpanel upwardly and forwardly slopes from joint 39 so that the bottom 31of container 33 is substantially V-shaped. A ramp 41 forms the forwardpart of pan 26 and is upwardly and rearwardly sloping from its forwardedge 43 with the rearward edge being integrally joined with the forwardedge of forward panel 37 as at 45.

Sides 23, 25 respectively extend downwardly and forwardly from container33 to respectively establish lips 47, 49 upstanding from the oppositeside edges of ramp 41 and integrally formed therewith. Lips 47, 49perform dual functions, namely, to prevent the material from spillingfrom the edges of ramp 41 during the loading opforward panel 37 toestablish skirts 51, 53, each of which the like, with the rearward end59 of the foot member engaging supporting surface S and withsubstantially the remainder of the foot member being spaced from theground. Foot member 57 is preferably formed from a resilient material asa piece of steel wire or the like and shaped as follows:

A pairs of legs 61, 63 are interconnected adjacent the rearward endsthereof as by a transverse connecting piecev 65 and forwardly extendtherefrom in diverging relationship to points adjacent the underside ofrearward panel 35 whereupon the foot member extends laterally in opposite directions to establish transverse portions 67, 69. Thence the footmember 57 extends forwardly from the outer ends of transverse portions67, 69 to establish forward projecting portions 71, 73, and thenadjacent the forward ends of portions 71, 73, the foot member extendsinwardly through bores 55 for short portions as at 75, 77. The portionpreferably extends inwardly at a right angle relative to forwardprojecting portion 71, and portion 77 preferably extends at an angleextending inwardly and forwardly from forward projecting portion 73, sothat the portion 77 engages the underside of ramp 41.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that foot member 57is prevented from rotating relative to pan 26 in one direction byengagement of transverse portions 67, 69 with the underside of rearwardpanel 35 and is prevented from rotating in the opposite direction byengagement of portion 77 with the under side of ramp '41.

disposition with pan 26 suspended below rod 15, the pan 26 will besuspended in a substantially horizontal disposition. Also, it should benoted that these attachment points above mentioned are substantiallymid-way between the rearward panel 35 and the forward panel 37 so thatwhen the container 33 is loaded, the pan will still be held in asubstantially horizontal disposition so that the material loaded thereinwill not dump out.

The relative lengths of suspension members 21 and foot members 57 aresuch that by a swinging motion of scraper 13, pan 26 may be flipped to avertical position as shown in solid lines in FIG. 4 with the forwardedge 43 of ramp 41 resting on supporting surface S and by downwardtilting movement of the forward part of scraper 13, the rearward end 59of foot member 57 may be engaged by the rod 15 as best shown in brokenlines in FIG. 4. In other words, suspension members 21 must be longenough relative to foot member 57 so that there is a space enoughbetween foot member 57 and rod 15 to permit swinging movement of pan 26from a position rearwardly of projection 19 as shown in solid lines inFIG. 4 to a forward position in which the pan 26 is tilted forwardly asshown in broken lines in FIG. 4, and suspension numbers 21 must be shortenough relative to foot member 57 so that by tilting the forward end ofrod 15 downwardly as shown in broken lines in FIG. 4, the rod willcontact the rearward end 59 of the foot member. It will be understoodthat the broken line position shown in this figure is a dumping positionin which the contents of container 33 will tend to fall out, and it willbe further understood that foot member 57 may be successively struck byrod 15 by moving rod 15 back and forth from the position shown in solidlines in FIG. 4 to the position shown in broken lines which will aid inremoving the material from the pan.

From the foregoing description of the movements illustrated in FIG. 4,it will be understood that the pan 26 may be emptied using only one handto hold rod 15 and without having to touch foot member 57. Of course, ifdesired, foot member 57 may be used as a handle to turn pan 26 over todump the material therein.

In using tool 11 for picking up waste material, the rod 15 is lowered tobring pan 26 to rest on supporting surface S, as shown in FIG. 3. Then,the users foot is placed on foot member 57 to apply pressure downwardlyand hold the pan securely against supporting surface S with the correctamount of pressure applied. It will be understood that pressure ispreferably applied until the legs 61, 63 of the foot member aresubstantially horizontal and in engagement with supporting surface S.Thus it will be understood that the same amount of pressure will alwaysthen be applied if the legs 61, 63 are urged into engagement with thesupporting surface. With pan 26 secured on supporting surface S, asabove described, the material is scraped up ramp 41 by manipulation ofscraper 13 so that blade 17 urges the material up the ramp and intocontainer 33. Then the tool 11 may be moved to another spot to pick upadditional waste and so on until container 33 is full. Then, pan 26 isemptied as heretofore described.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that the entirepicking up and emptying of the waste material may be accomplished by theuse of only one arm, which is used to grasp rod 15, and is accomplishedwithout the person bending down. Also, it will be understood that footmember 57 is easily and quickly removable for the replacement of aworn-out or damaged foot member, as by pulling outwardly on forwardprojecting portion 71 to remove short portion 75 from bore 55, whereuponthe other short portion 77 may be easily removed. Also, in this manner,the foot member 57 may be reversed, as, for example, when during usage,the legs 61, 63 become bent downwardly, the foot member may be turnedover with the portions 75, 77 inserted in the opposite bore 55, fromwhich it was originally inserted. a

Although the invention has been described and illustrated with respectto a preferred embodiment thereof, it is to be understood that it is notto be so limited since changes and modifications may be made thereinwhich are within the full intended scope of this invention ashereinafter claimed.

I claim:

1. A tool for disposing of waste material and the like, said toolcomprising a scraper including a rod and a blade mounted adjacent thelower end of said rod with said blade being angled downwardly andrearwardly from said rod, a pair of projections mounted intermediate theends of said rod and extending laterally in opposite directionstherefrom, a pan including a container and a ramp adjacent saidcontainer adapted to be engaged by said blade for moving the wastematerial into said container for the loading thereof, a foot memberattached to said pan and extending rearwardly therefrom for engagementby a persons foot during the loading of said container, a pair ofelongated flexible suspension members respectively attached adjacent oneof the ends thereof to said projections and depending therefrom, each ofsaid suspension members being of constant length, said suspensionmembers being respectively attached adjacent the lower ends thereof tosaid pan and arranged so that said pan is suspended substantiallyhorizontal for carrying and adapted to be placed in a substantiallyhorizontal position on a supporting surface for the loading thereof,said foot member and said suspension members being of such relativelengths and so arranged that said pan by motion of said rod is adaptedto be flipped from a substantially horizontal position to verticalpositions for the dumping thereof and is adapted to be struck by saidrod for aid in dumping.

2. A tool for disposing of waste material and the like, said toolcomprising a scraper including a rod and a blade mounted adjacent thelower end of said rod, a pair of projections mounted intermediate theends of said rod and extending laterally in opposite directions therefrom, a pan including a container and an upwardly and rearwardly slopingramp joined adjacent its rearward edge to said container adjacent itsforward edge whereby said ramp is adapted to be slidably engaged by saidblade for moving the waste material up the ramp and into said containerfor the loading thereof, said pan being provided with a pair of spacedbores respectively disposed on opposite sides of said pan, a resilientfoot member embracingly engaging said pan and extending rearwardlytherefrom for engagement by a persons foot during the loading of thepan, said foot member including portions engaging the bottom of saidcontainer to prevent ro tation of the foot member in one direction andincluding a pair of short portions engaging the bottom of said ramp toprevent rotation of the foot member in the opposite direction, a pair ofelongated flexible suspension members, each of said suspension membersbeing of a constant length, said suspension members being respectivelyattached adjacent the lower ends thereof to said container adjacent theopposite sides thereof and arranged so that said path is suspendedsubstantially horizontal for carrying and adapted to be placed in asubstantially horizontal position on a supporting surface for theloading thereof.

3. A tool for disposing of waste material and the like, said toolcomprising a scraper including a rod and a blade mounted adjacent thelower end of said rod, a pair of projections mounted intermediate theends of said rod and extending laterally in opposite directionstherefrom, a pan, a resilient foot member removably attached to said panand extending rearwardly therefrom, a pair of elongated flexiblesuspension members respectively attached adjacent one of the endsthereof to said projections and depending therefrom, said suspensionmembers being non-resilient, said suspension members being respeetivelyattached adjacent the lower ends thereof to said pan and arranged sothat said pan is suspended substantially horizontal below saidprojections in spaced relationship thereto for carrying and adapted tobe placed in a substantially horizontal position on a supporting surfacefor the loading thereof, said pan including a container and a rampadjacent said container adapted to be engaged by said blade for movingthe waste material into said container during the loading thereof, saiddoot member and said suspension members being of such relative lengthsand so arranged that said pan by motion of said rod is adapted to beflipped from a substantially horizontal position to vertical positionsfor the dumping thereof and is adapted to be struck by said rod for aidin dumping.

4. A tool for disposing of waste material and the like, said toolcomprising a scraper including a rod and a blade mounted adjacent thelower end of said rod with said blade being angled downwardly andrearwardly from said rod, a pair of projections mounted intermediate theends of said rod and extending laterally in opposite directionstherefrom, a pan including a container and a ramp sloping upwardly fromadjacent the forward edge of the pan to said container for use inguiding the material into said container, elongated flexible suspensionmeans attached adjacent the upper end thereof to said projections forsuspending said pan beneath said projections in a substantiallyhorizontal position for movement of the pan between a carrying positionand a ground engaging loading position upon raising and lowering of saidrod, when in said carrying position said suspension means holding saidpan in a balanced horizontal position substantially spaced from saidrod, a resilient foot member mounted on said pan and extendingrearwardly therefrom whereby the pan is adapted to be held when in saidloading position by foot pressure thereon, said handle and saidelongated fiexible suspension means being of such relative lengths andso arranged that said pan by movement of said rod is adapted to beflipped from a substantially horizontal loading position to verticalpositions for the dumping thereof and is adapted to be struck by saidrod for aid in dumping.

5. A tool for disposing of waste material and the like, said toolcomprising a scraper including a rod and a blade mounted adjacent thelower end of said rod, a pan, means for suspending said pan beneath saidrod, said pan being suspended in a substantially balanced horizontalposition in spaced and unfixed relationship to said rod, said meansbeing flexible so that with said pan resting on a supporting surfacesaid scraper is adapted to be moved for scraping waste material and thelike into said pan, and a handle mounted on said pan and extendingrearwardly therefrom whereby the pan is adapted to be held on asupporting surface by foot pressure thereon during loading of the pan.

6. A tool for disposing of waste material and the like, said toolcomprising a pan, a scraper adapted to be used with said pan forscraping material into said pan, said scraper including a rod, said panbeing flexibly suspended from said rod in a substantially balancedhorizontal position in spaced and unfixed relationship to said rodwherebysaid pan is adapted to be selectively carried by said rod orlowered to a ground engaging position for ruse by said scraper beingmoved in cooperating relationship thereto to load said pan.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS320,742 Allen June 23, 1885 851,441 Robinson Apr. 23, 1907 1,082,128 LowDec. 23, 1913 1,375,017 Russell Apr. 19, 1921 2,305,950 Birch Dec. 22,1942 2,823,470 Page Feb. 18, 1958

